The Miami Marlins will host the Washington Nationals for a four-game series beginning on Thursday.
After entering the year with World Series aspirations, Washington finds itself in a precarious position. The Nationals are seven games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies and are currently under .500 at 50-51. A series loss in Miami could further damage Washington's playoff hopes and a young Marlins squad could relish the opportunity.
The Marlins have played better ball since early June, though the roster could possibly see changes in the coming days. No trades have been completed as of yet, but Miami could become an active team ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. With the playoffs out of reach in 2018, Miami could make moves to further improve their chances for the future. It is also possible the Marlins stand pat, if they do not receive a suitable offer for any of their veterans.
Dan Straily will start for Miami in Thursday's series opener and will try to pick up a sixth straight quality start. Straily is one of Miami's veterans that could be moved before next week and he certainly has improved his trade value recently. The right-hander is 4-4 with a 4.02 E.R.A in 2018 and has been Miami's ace in July. Straily has compiled a 2.42 E.R.A this month across four starts.
Pablo Lopez dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start and will be back on the mound for Friday's game. Lopez is 2-1 with a 5.09 E.R.A in his rookie season and his last outing, was his best one thus far. Lopez has 20 strikeouts in 23 innings this year and has limited his walks to only seven total.
Trevor Richards has put together two straight quality starts and has lowered his rookie season E.R.A to 4.41. has kept opposing teams off the basepaths in his last two outings, while also picking up solid strikeout totals. Richards faced Washington earlier this month and walked seven in 3.2 innings, in what was one of the shortest outings of his career. Richards will get the ball on Saturday against Hialeah native Gio Gonzalez.
Jose Urena will try to turn things around in Sunday's series finale. In his last two starts, Urena has only lasted four innings each time. The right-hander allowed a combined ten runs in those starts and has an ugly 5.79 E.R.A this month. Urena is 2-10 on the season and he has regressed since posting a decent month in May.
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J.T. Realmuto remains a popular name in trade rumors and Washington has been linked to him in the past. It remains unlikely that Miami moves Realmuto ahead of the trade deadline, but things sometimes change quickly this time of year. The Nationals have a need at catcher, but they may not want to mortgage their future in a trade for Realmuto. Miami's asking price has been rumored to be extremely high for the All-Star catcher.
The four-game series will begin on Thursday at 7:10 p.m.
